Explore new ways of thinking about tectonics and alternative materials in this free OpenCourseWare offered by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 'Architectural Design Level II: Material and Tectonic Transformations: The Herreshoff Museum' examines fresh concepts about architecture by focusing on boat building and how it relates to site design. This Level II graduate course is recommended for those who have an understanding of Level I architectural designing, sketching and using digital modeling tools, such PhotoShop.

Taught by Professor Paul Lukez, this free OpenCourseWare explored the relationship between fixed and moving states as it related to site design. In the original course, students visited the renowned Herreshoff Museum in Bristol, Rhode Island, a century-old company known for its champion boat building. Students studied the history, materials and techniques specific to boat design, including volume displacement, strength within lightness and balancing mass. Through ongoing assignments students investigated the techniques and related it to design plans for renovating the museum's waterfront site. They were asked to consider both land and water as properties of the site and incorporate them into their design plans. The final projects included digital and built models and sketches. The goal of this free OpenCourseWare was to step outside the boundaries of conventional architecture design and explore the functions of tectonics and alternative techniques and materials in built form. This lecture style course was given through the Department of Architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The Architectural Design OpenCourseWare includes assignment information and a gallery of student works. If the topic of this course is something that you would like to explore further, then visit the boat building and site design course page.